Call for Apps
EUROPEAN THEATRE SUMMER SCHOOL 2009
Call for Applications
The 22nd European Theatre Summer School will be held once again at the Centre d'Accueil Clairefontaine on the border between Luxembourg and Belgium from Saturday 25th July to Sunday 2nd August inclusive. The twenty-second year of a Summer School that continues to nourish, nurture and enrich.
Applications are now called for the 2009 Summer School. Below are details of the School and attached are a description of the tutors and the courses they will be offering and an official application form which should be completed and returned to the address given.
Those of you not familiar with Summer School can read more about it on our website at munsbach.org.
The Course
Our course will follow the "Munsbach model" developed over the previous decade at our original home in Luxembourg : activity will revolve entirely around project work designed to accommodate both directing and acting students. Tutors work with students throughout the day and the various projects interweave from time to time : there are sessions where staff move across from one project to another ; particular explorations may be shared or pooled ; there may be developments that briefly pull in the entire student body. By the end of the week, everyone should have sampled something of the experience of everyone else.
We shall be active throughout each day, with the afternoon and evening off on Thursday. Although the course is intensive the atmosphere is relaxed, and we ensure that there is time - in breaks, around the grounds and winding down at the end of the day - to chat and share the experience.
The Tutors
GRAEME DU FRESNE Course Director (teacher, musical and theatrical director and actor)
AOIFE SMYTH (director, teacher)
CLAIRE RUSS (choreographer, movement director and teacher)
LAWRENCE EVANS (director, movement director, actor and teacher)
The Projects
THEME course : READING BETWEEN THE LINES
Towards the end of his life, Harold Pinter gave an interview in which he complained about the way that actors misinterpreted the meaning(s) of his infamous PAUSE : "They take too long over them" he concluded. The question remains however; How do we as directors and actors make decisions about the bits beyond the text, the stage directions, the pause, the dash, the dot, the acting suggestion, the acting instruction, or indeed the lack of any of the above? Within the text itself punctuation can carry various meanings. A Checkhovian semi colon isn't the same as a Shakespearean one. Howard Barker doesn't use punctuation at all in his later plays. Albee's instructions regarding the interpretation of his own punctuation is inflexible and insistent and his plays are crammed with instructions.
Similarly in music, performers have a plethora of information to interpret. How fast is allegro? How do we sing ‘plaintively, but not too slowly'? What acting clues are contained in dynamic markings (loud/soft etc) ? What do we do when there aren't any directions as in improvised jazz? The 2009 theme course will include work of the following playwrights: Pinter, Beckett, Albee, Checkhov, Shaw, Barker and Shakespeare. The singing option will include the music of Jason Robert Brown, David Shire and some improvised jazz.
SKILLS course : directing, singing, acting and voice/movement
There will also be a smaller "Project 3", which involves student directors working with student actors over a number of working sessions around mid-week (more details of this in our next mailing).
The Venue
The Centre d'Accueil Clairefontaine lies at the end of the Bardenburg valley surrounded by forests a little way from the historic hamlet of Clairefontaine, with its ruins of a 12th century monastery and the chapel of Countess Ermesinde, one of the great figures of medieval Luxembourg. Clairefontaine is about five minutes' drive from Arlon and the Brussels-Luxembourg motorway.
Clairefontaine has its own extensive lawns, a brook running through the grounds and Luxembourg is within hailing distance. It has plentiful working spaces inside and out and meals are freshly prepared in its own kitchens. Bedroom accommodation is plain but comfortable. There are some single rooms, more 2- and 3-bed rooms and a few various-sized dormitories (which will only be used if numbers really make it necessary).
The Student Body
There is in principle no restriction on the numbers attending ; our student body normally numbers around 50, with 4 tutors, but should it be necessary we are ready to scale the school up and expand the teaching body to maintain the optimum teacher/student ratio. Should this be necessary, we shall exercise discretion in offering places on the course and in establishing and drawing on a waiting list. We shall endeavour to maintain a fair and appropriate balance between new students, a vital element in the Summer School ; regular students, whose loyalty and experience we value enormously, not least for helping others derive the greatest possible benefit from the school ; and those who may be returning after a period for a "refresher course".
The Fees
The fees are the same as for 2008. The all-in charge to students for the 2009 course is therefore :
full fee deposit
Residential 750€ 300€
Day student 550€ 250€
There is an additional fee of 80€ for a single or single occupancy room. These will be allocated on a first-come first-served (or special needs) basis.
Deposits are required by 31st May and the balance of fees by 15th July. Applicants failing to pay the deposit by the deadline will be deemed to have withdrawn and will be removed from the registration list.
Payment : Payment should be made to the New World Theatre Club account held at the BGL (ex Fortis) bank in Luxembourg (BGLLLULL, IBAN LU80 0030 0960 1115 0000, ref. "Summer School 2009").
Please also communicate payment to us, if possible sending a copy of your payment voucher as bank records can be misleading and we could lose track of your remittance.
You may if you wish already send your deposit, or even the entire amount.
Concessional Rates
Scholarships : Five places are offered as scholarships, at a fee of only 275€. Anyone interested in this option - there is no age limit - is asked to set out in a letter why you wish to attend, what you hope to achieve and why you believe you may merit the concessional rate. A letter of recommendation, for instance from your club or a teacher, would be helpful. The NWTC Committee and the Course Director will make the selection.
Do come and join us at Clairefontaine : scores of students have been on the European Theatre Summer School over the years ; many come back for more. Previous experience, even regular involvement in things theatrical, is not necessary : Summer School is a very special, safe place. We shall relish your involvement in the course, be you an old hand or a tentative newcomer.
Coordinators : John Brigg, 1 rue T. Eberhard, L-1451 Luxembourg (tel. home +352 446 680 ;
mobile +352 691 636 631 ; fax +352 26 488 610 ; e-mail : jbrigg(at)luxconsult(dot)lu)
Nola Dutton, 22 South Parade, Northallerton, N. Yorkshire DL7 8SG, England
(tel: +44(0)1609 773 500 ; e-mail : Nola(at)DuttonsOnLine(dot)co(dot)uk)